Golden Sky
by SequesteredAnthem
Summary: Summertime always held that air of mystery, of new beginnings. RosexScorpius.
1. The Wind

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Jane Eyre, Nocturne F, or the beautiful song that inspired this story.**

* * *

Ginny Potter bent down to take the cookie sheet out of the oven. Living with Harry, she had come to enjoy doing things the way the muggles did. The amount of problems that resulted from this was another matter entirely; she was just glad that this batch hadn't burned or caught fire like the others. She grabbed the sheet and began to straighten up again when the fireplace to her right exploded in green flames and light. She screamed and the cookies went flying.

"IMMOBULUS!" said the blond boy who was coming out of the fireplace, wand drawn, pointing at the cookies now floating in midair.

"Scorpius." she said shakily, placing one palm on her heart and leaning against the counter. She heard a muffled laugh and looked up.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Potter, I didn't mean to frighten you." Scorpius said sheepishly. He had been there for only a minute and had already caused a catastrophe. He hoped desperately that things would go well, knowing the Potters' and Weasleys' silent but present resignation when it came to his family, but it seemed that trouble followed him everywhere he went.

"That's alright, I'm far too jumpy ," Ginny smiled and removed her wand from her dress's pocket and began to move the cookies from the air into their proper location on the plate sitting on the counter.

"Oh, let me, please, it's my fault," Scorpius waved his wand and they all floated onto the plate with a muttered "wingardium leviosa."

"Thanks," she said and pocketed her wand again. "Harry took Al, Lilly, and James to Diagon Alley this morning, they should be back soon. We weren't expecting you this early."

Scorpius reddened a bit, his expression full of profuse apologies. "My parents decided to leave a bit earlier for their vacation. You know how they are. I didn't mean to be a bother." He explained.

"Don't be silly, you're never a bother. Go on upstairs and put your things in the guest room. You're welcome to look around, go out into the back yard, whatever you wish. Why don't you have a cookie as well?" she said pointing at the plate and went back to the food preparation.

Scorpius took one, mumbled his thanks and grabbed the trunk next to his feet and levitated it, heading toward the stairs. Al's mom was really nice, and he was glad of it. He looked around the living room, as he approached the steps. Not much had changed since he had last visited, a grand fireplace surrounded by cozy chairs and sofas, the _Daily Prophet_ on the coffee table, next to a half-empty mug of coffee. Pictures flooded every wall. Harry, Hermione, and Ron during their days at Hogwarts. Harry's parents. Ginny's parents. But most of all, pictures of their three kids in every place you could imagine, he even saw his own face smiling from a few of them. He chewed the cookie slowly and walked up the stairs and to the first room on the right.

The Potters had a house the perfect size for them, no small cottage, but no Malfoy manner, either. A large porch ran all around the light blue house below, a balcony wrapped around in the same way above. Each room had access to the outdoors. Scorpius put his trunk in the corner of the room that bore leafy green colored walls and a large bed with white posts. He stepped over to the French doors and opened them, stepping out onto the balcony that faced the backyard. Leaning on the wooden rail he looked around to the vast green that lay ahead. The forest beyond thinned slowly into the crisp grassy lawn. There was another house to the right that he knew belonged to Hermione and Ron Weasley. Since the Burrow contained a large lot of land, Molly Weasley had given this part to two of her kids to build their houses on if they wished. They were just a short distance from the nearby village of Ottery St. Catchpole. He did not know what Ginny and Ron were thinking, however, he would never live this close to his parents if he was married. The Weasleys had always been close as a family, but this was insanity.

Something moved in the trees behind the Weasly house, a flash of white, he focused on the area and spotted a person. It was Rose Weasley. She was high up in a large oak tree, sitting on a branch, reading a book. He smiled; he had been wondering when he would see her. Their parents and most of the faculty at Hogwarts were quite surprised to find that Albus Severus Potter, Rose Weasley, and Scorpius Malfoy had become best mates, despite their families' history, but prejudice and grudges had to be overcome or at least hidden, because their children were always together. He closed his eyes, the wind was blowing wisps of air through his hair and the sun warmed his face. He had always loved summer days, nothing could ever beat them. He decided to go pay his friend a visit, he walked back down the stairs, smiled at Ginny and went out through the doors that connected the living room and backyard.

Ginny watched Scorpius creeping slowly into her brother's yard and wondered what the boy was up to until she saw Rose sitting in her tree, reading, as she did every day around this time. She laughed, _this ought to be good_ she thought to herself, remembering her own earlier scare. She continued to watch as Scorpius got closer and closer to the tree.

Rose was a reader. She had always been. When she picked up a book, especially one of her favorites, she was hooked by the rusty anchors of aged sailors, captured by the charming smiles and luring words of old English gentlemen, and transfixed by the quick wit and fluid language of ancient poets. When she read, she was completely unaware of the world around her, living in a world created by imagery and diction. Her brother had often taken advantage of this lapse of attention to play tricks on her as they grew up: they were always successful.

Scorpius was now by the trunk of the oak watching Rose on the other side, reclining on the trunk in her white summer dress, her bare feet crossed on the branch in front of her, pink toenails in the air, sapphire eyes focused intently on the page before her. The breeze blew her auburn curls around her face. Scorpius found himself staring. He was so used to seeing her in the strict Hogwarts uniform, hair tied up in a bun, crisp white oxfords, held together by garnet and gold ties, sweater vests, and black robes, always burdened and weighed down by mountains of schoolwork. She looked so free, _alive_. She smiled at something that she read, and turned the page of the little weathered novel. This sort of environment suited her, he found, bright and sunlit, just like her. The way she perched herself atop the large branch, smooth pale skin bluntly contrasting with the rough brown bark around her, _Merlin, was she always this delicate_? He almost didn't want to disturb her. He shocked himself a bit, miss a chance to embarrass his best friend? Never.

He smirked and set a silence charm on himself and began to climb the tree until he was directly behind her, on the other side of the trunk. He undid the spell and leaned forward until he was a few inches from her ear.

"BOO!" he yelled. She screeched and chucked the book into the air, it landed with a thud in the grass below. She lost her balance and fell off the branch, he leaped to where she was just sitting, grabbed her wrists, and smiled a her glaring face below. "Hello, Rosie."

"SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY! HOW DARE YOU!?" she screamed. "GET ME UP ALREADY!" He lifted her up and put her next to him on the branch, having already usurped her spot against the trunk.

"I'm happy to see you, too!" he responded cheerfully. She continued to glare. "Oh, come on, that was not that bad. You should have seen your Aunt Ginny earlier," he grinned.

"I almost fell out of a tree because you decided to be a bloody idiot."

"Why were on a bloody tree in the first place?" he responded, clearly amused.

"Maybe I _like_ the tree." she shot back, defiantly. He started to laugh.

"Alright, whatever you say." He flashed her a bright white smile. She shoved his shoulder, trying to look mad, but ended up laughing, he started to as well.

"Only you," she laughed, "and how come you're here, anyway, weren't you supposed to show up later tonight?"

"Yes, but my parents, and well… you know how they are." She nodded, smiling, recalling stories of a very er… intimate couple that always waited for Scorpius at the platform after they left Hogwarts, and whenever they departed London to go to Hogwarts.

"Show how've you been, Scor?"

"Decent. Slightly lonely, sitting at home with nothing to do for a month"

"Well you're here now, and believe me, after that whole debacle, any peace of mind you had before will have gone after I'm through with you." She leaned toward him and threatened with an amused glare.

"Oh, really?" he said audaciously, leaning closer. "What exactly are you going to do with me?" He smirked suggestively.

She flushed red, but played along; she got closer, smiling with implication, their faces mere centimeters apart. "Oh, I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to do." His eyes widened slightly, she could tell that he was trying to control his reaction, but his shock got the best of him.

"Is that right?" he whispered, even closer.

"Yup." She smiled and shoved him off the branch.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" He shouted as he plummeted to the ground. She whipped out her wand, pointed it at him, and he froze in mid air, a foot from the ground.

"ROSE WEAS--!" he started to yell, but she flicked her wand again and he flopped onto the ground, mouth full of grass. She giggled hysterically from the branch above as he got up and shot her a glare, while brushing the dirt and leaves off himself.

"I'm sorry--where you saying something?" She said in between spasms of laughter.

"You and your bloody tree," he muttered darkly under his breath, picking up her book, which lay on the ground next to him; this was mostly an attempt to shield his face, which began to redden, he cursed himself for falling for that, for being so gullible. He lifted the book up, slowly, composing himself. _Jane Eyre_ read the soft, intricate cursive on the cover. The picture of the woman was faded, the corners worn, the spine indicated that it was opened a few more times than it was meant to. He flipped to a random page and read dramatically in a high pitched voice:

_"I have told you, reader, that I had learnt to love Mr. Rochester; I could not unlove him now, merely because I found that he had ceased to notice me-- because I might pass hours in his presence and he would never once turn his eyes in my direction-- because I saw all his attentions appropriated by a great lady, who--"_

While Scorpius had his little soliloquy, Rose snapped a twig from the branch she sat on and flung it at him, interrupting his oration.

"Bloody hell!" he yelled, dropping the book, holding his hands up in surrender.

"That's what you get for making fun of Jane." She declared, starting to climb down the tree, the motions ingrained in her mind, having climbed up and down it so many times since she was little. Once she was close enough to the ground, she jumped and landed lithely in the grass, walking over to pick up her battle-worn book, clutching it to herself.

* * *

Some yards away, Ginny stood by her kitchen window, overtaken by laughter. _Priceless_ she thought, flicking her wand toward the vegetables on the cutting board, making the knife dice them itself, so she could return to the window, she would have to share today's events with Harry and Hermione when they came back, she knew they'd appreciate it, Ron she was more hesitant toward, his anger got the best of him sometimes.

* * *

Now that Rose was standing in front of him, their height difference became more pronounced: he was at least a full head taller. "What'd you do with that thing anyway, drive over it repeatedly with the Knight Bus?" he said, pointing at the object in her hands.

"No." she said, slightly offended "It's my mother's; it has been since she was our age." She explained, taking in the appearance of the well-loved book.

"Ah." He understood; many professors had spoken about Hermione Granger in her years at Hogwarts; his dad had mentioned a few things as well. He frowned: they weren't good things. _Insufferable know-it-all_ he called her, remembering. Rose had inherited her mother's love of knowledge and books, especially the classic romances, he noticed, having spotted her with _Pride and Prejudice_ and _Wuthering Heights_ before, equally as worn. He smiled to himself, still looking at the book.

"Erm… you there?" She waved one hand in front of him; he snapped out of his thoughts.

"Barely." He joked.

"I can see. You want a butterbeer?" She asked, starting to stride to her house, taking dainty bare-footed steps in the green grass. _Merlin, has she always been this graceful?_ Her dress fluttered in the wind, and now that she was out of the shade of the three, the sun made her hair shine a fiery red as it blew wildly.

"…uh… yeah." He muttered , still looking after her. She threw her head back, facing the sun, eyes closed, arms out, and began to twirl around.

"Gosh, don't you just love the summer?" She spoke, smiling brightly.

"I do," he said quietly, still looking at the way she easily glided over the earth. He realized he was just standing there, fixed in his spot, staring, so he began to follow her to the patio which contained six reclining chairs to one side, and a long table for twelve to the other. She sat down in one of the reclining chairs, lounging, she waved her wand, summoning two butterbeers. She made a motion for him to sit as well. He followed, and sat in the chair next to her, grabbing his butterbeer as it floated to him, opening it easily. She was struggling with her own. He smirked; she glared, but then pouted and held her bottle toward him.

"Nope." He said smugly, reclining and sipping his drink. She made a disgruntled noise next to him. "If you hadn't pushed me out of that bloody tree, then maybe I'd open it." Karma. He turned toward her, prepared to laugh at her reaction, but she only deepened the pout and batted her eyelashes innocently.

"Merlin, woman, you'll be the death of me." He grabbed the bottle from her hand and easily twisted the cap off, and handed it back. She laughed.

"No, never death, just near it, because if you die who will I be able to mock?"

"Ah, yes, the ulterior motive. How could you go on without me?"

"I couldn't." She said, completely earnest. He smiled. _Merlin, she loved that smile._ _In a strictly platonic sense, of course._ Silence followed for a minute or two.

"Where's your annoying git of a little brother?" Scorpius asked, looking around. He tried to peer inside, but it was so bright outside that he couldn't.

"Oh, him and my parents went to Diagon Alley with the Potters. Something about a famous author and new broomsticks"

"And you stayed here by yourself?"

"Yeah, I mean, do you know how hard it is to get some peace and quiet around here?" He thought about that: one annoying brother, two over-protective parents, three cousins, an aunt and uncle, grandma and grandpa down the path; that would be enough to drive any person bonkers.

"I see."

She laughed at his expression. "Yeah, I love them all to death, but sometimes I just want some silence and time for myself. Hence my tree, I've been going there since I was six years old and could climb it without falling." She smiled, remembering bruises and scarred knees from her early years of exploration. "I don't mind being alone, though, sometimes I need it, like today, to sort out my thoughts and clear my mind."

"That shouldn't take very long." He grinned at his own joke.

"Ha. Ha. You're hysterical." She retorted blandly.

"I know." He continued to smile.

"And modest, it seems."

"Of course, I happen to be really good at being modest."

She watched the trees swaying from side to side, whispering secrets in the wind. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, and the sun was so bright that instead of blue, the sky seemed golden, as it always looked on perfect summer days such as this one.

As she looked on, he looked at her. Everything from her nose, to her cheeks, shoulders, and arms was covered in small freckles, he wondered why he never noticed small details such as these before, after all, they had been best friends for five years. She noticed him looking and covered her cheeks with her hands, blushing.

"The blasted Weasley complexion. Very pale, quick to blush, and never tan. When in the sun, we either freckle or burn. It seems today it's the former, it tends to alternate." She complained, removing her hands from her cheeks and looking over her arms.

"Ah, yes, but that's nowhere near as terrible as the Malfoy complexion. Very pale, seldom blush, and in the sun we either pale or _pale_. Today, it appears that I am the latter, though the level of pale varies from day to day." He complained, imitating her; they both started to laugh.

"You wanna come in? It's scorching in the open sun." She asked, sitting up.

"Sure." He got up and followed her figure to the French doors that led into the house.

The temperature difference was profound; he found the cool air refreshing. He stood and looked around the Weasleys' living room. The walls were lined in mahogany bookshelves that held hundreds of volumes on every subject imaginable. On some shelves there were picture frames and little baubles and souvenirs from various vacations and business trips. Any spare inch of wall not covered in shelves held muggle paintings, from minuscule in size to many feet wide, of all different styles. Scorpius could identify some of the pieces, for they were some of his favorites as well. There was a large fireplace with a mantle that matched the shelves, in front of it were two large sofas that faced each other, a table in between, on which more books were stacked. It had the air of a library, yet it was more inviting. There was a raised area in the far left corner, where a sleek black grand piano was the main focus, a stack of sheet music with octive-bouncing notes stood perched on the stand.

Rose noticed where he was looking and smiled. "I love that piano."

"You know, you've talked about the fact that you play, but I've never actually heard you play. Play me something."

She blushed and mumbled nervously, she had a horrible case of stage fright, playing in front of people made her nervous, like she was being judged. "I couldn't-- I-- plus I wouldn't even know... what to play..." He walked over and put his hand on her shoulder; she tried to act nonchalant, but physical contact did not help.

"Play me your favorite." He smiled encouragingly. She looked into his gray eyes and realized that she was acting ridiculous. This was Scorpius, her best friend, he wouldn't judge her. She walked over and sat down on the bench, he followed and leaned on the back of the sofa, watching.

It began. Her fingers glided over the keys fluidly, a sad tune resounded in the room. She closed her eyes and continued playing, her expression mirroring the notes that swam in the air around them. The emotion portrayed in the music stunned him, the way she seemed to identify with it, even more so. Her fingers delicately created each note, it was a wonder that such a light touch could produce such a sound. She finished with a long melancholy note, her eyes still shut. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. She finally opened them, and turned to face him. He smiled with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"That was beautiful." He whispered, though he dint know why. "What was it?"

"Chopin._ Nocturne F_ in C sharp minor."

"You never cease to amaze me." He stated with utmost sincerity and walked over to the bench, his footsteps resonating in the silence, sitting next to her. She hugged him; he had no idea how much that meant to her. She looked up at him, still enveloped in his strong arms. Blue met gray. The day met the night. He leaned closer, hesitating, his eyes never leaving hers. She placed one hand gently on his cheek, leaning closer, centimeters, millimeters, slowly disappearing between them.

The fireplace exploded in green flames with a loud CRACK; they wretched apart just in time, before a chatting Ron and Hermione began to exit the fireplace, Hugo close behind.

"...like you wouldn't believe! I could barely--" Ron stopped talking, taking in the sight of the two seated at the piano. "What are you two doing?" He asked, suspicious.

Years of practice on her belt, she gave her dad an unfazed look. pointing at the sheet music. "I was playing Chopin for Scor. Apparently he's never heard of him. I thought that was a horrible flaw on his part, so I took pity on him and played him _Nocturne F_ in C sharp minor." She stated matter-of-fact-ly, looking at Scorpius with a disappointed look. Ron seemed appeased muttering something about how he loved 'that one', not to mention whenever Rose used 'piano talk' he always nodded profusely, acting well-informed, when in fact he had no idea what the difference between a sharp and a flat was. Her mother, Hermione, however, gave her a knowing look before she followed her husband out of the room.

The newcomers walked outside, continuing their conversation, and closing the door behind them to keep the cool air from getting out. Silence filled the room. Rose and Scorpius looked at each other for a moment and, as if on cue, mutually broke out into laughter, their guffaws reverberating from the walls, as they got up and followed her family out to the patio.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can. Please review. I would love to hear your input. : ]**

**If you'd like to hear Nocturne F, here is a link: www . youtube . com/watch?v=76TgbcdIRyE**

**If you'd like to hear the song that inspired this story, here is a link: www . youtube . com/watch?v=6Fdm9Jv3pbU**

**(Remove the spaces, of course. I added those because the link disappeared without them.)  
**


	2. The Trees

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate your feedback! : ]**

**There goes the second chapter, sorry it has taken me so long to update, life gets in the way sometimes. I got stuck in a bit of a rut after the first chapter, that one was a rush of inspiration, and I had no idea where I was going to take this, but John Mayer helped me work that out. **

**So here it is, I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Pride and Prejudice.**

* * *

Albus Severus Potter had come to terms. He knew that everywhere he went he would stir attention, this probably having to do with the uncanny resemblance he had to his father, everything from his unruly black hair to his piercing green eyes. Well, everything except the lightning-shaped scar that still stood out against his father's forehead. Annoying as it was to be stared at constantly, he was proud. He had heard stories from his father, Aunt Hermione, and Uncle Ron about what happened in their war against Voldemort almost three decades ago; he studied the events in his classes. That's when he felt most ill-at-ease, but at least then he knew he wasn't the only one. Rose's father was an integral part of it as well. They were both overwhelmed by positive, almost awed, attention. The same could not be said for a certain Scorpius Malfoy, seated on Al's other side. He knew how harshly he was judged at first on account of his family's involvement in the Dark Arts and support of Voldemort. However, most came to realize that Scorpius was not his father, and he was most certainly not his grandfather. Not to mention that he, unlike all precedent, became best mates with none other than Harry Potter's son and Ron and Hermione Weasley's daughter. If they were getting unwanted attention before, it was twice as prominent now.

Al couldn't have asked for two better friends than he had. He was thrilled when the Malfoys announced that they wanted to travel to France for the second half of summer. Scorpius was trying to prepare himself mentally to deal with his parents in a foreign place where he didn't know anyone else. Albus simply invited him to spend that span of time at his house: Scorpius was pleased to say the least. So after a month at home, he was to arrive at the Potters' July third at dinner time. Al got home with his dad , siblings, and the Weasleys, at around five pm from Diagon Alley. His mother had stayed home to prepare food for the big dinner they'd have that night.

He stepped through the fireplace with his father and siblings into the familiar kitchen to find his mom tilting her head at an awkward angle in the window, looking to the outside. The second they came in she practically jumped out of her skin and flew away from the window.

"Merlin! The second time today!" She animatedly exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

"Gin… what were you doing at the window…?" Harry looked at her with a mix of amusement and curiosity, one eyebrow raised.

"Oh… you see he was--" She started explaining but Al cut her off

"Wait… 'second time?' Who was here before?"

"Well if you'd let me explain!" She laughed. "Scorpius got here a bit early, and lets just say the cookies learned how to fly." She said looking at the plate on the counter.

"Oh, where is he?" Al said, starting to walk upstairs, assuming the guest room would be the best bet.

Ginny pointed sheepishly toward the window that she was just at "Er… he's outside…."

"Mom! You were spying on Scorpius? I told you he's not like his fa--"

"Al, I know. It's just that Rose was reading in her tree and he sneaked out there and scared her half to death, so that she almost fell out of the tree. But after talking for a few minutes, she got the better of him and she shoved _him_ out of the tree." she paused. "… and he ate a bit of grass… and got a stick thrown at him, that poor thing. It was quite comical." She explained, starting to laugh again. "Prize entertainment, those two."

Al could totally picture the events his mother just described, Scor and Rose were always like that, pranking each other, trying to get the upper hand; they certainly made life interesting. Well… as long as the tricks weren't directed at him. He walked out looking for his friends, who were drinking butterbeer on the Weasleys' patio.

"Long time no see, mate!" Al greeted and sat down on a chair next to his friends after punching Scorpius in the arm as a greeting.

"Great to see you too." He muttered darkly as he rubbed his arm. "Where've you been? I was reduced to having to talk to _this one_: you know how well that goes." He nudged his shoulder toward Rose with a look of boredom. Al laughed at the scowl she returned.

"Oh, yeah, I heard." He reached out his hand to Rose. "High five." She obliged with a smug look.

"Huh? What do you mean you heard? How did you hear?"

"I don't understand your surprise, I'm sure even Grandma Molly heard your girlish scream, but don't worry, we won't judge you." She patted his shoulder in mock compassion.

"Shut it." Scorpius replied indignantly. "How was Diagon Alley?"

"Merlin, you should have seen it! Dad and Uncle Ron got an advance viewing of the new Meteor that comes out next week. It's from the same makers as the Firebolt and it's supposed to be twice as fast and much easier to steer, not to mention it's the most lightweight broom ever made." His longing for that broom was practically tangible as he spoke about it. Albus had inherited Harry's love of flying, and continued the line of seekers in the Potter family. Him, Rose, Scorpius, and Hugo formed an integral part of the Gryffindor quidditch team. Rose being a Chaser, Scorpius the Keeper, and Hugo one of the beaters.

"It was bloody amazing!" Hugo quipped from a few feet over where he was reading the back of a red box that had "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes" written at the top in a font that appeared to look like it was dripping.

"I'm sorry," Scorpius said, turning to Rose, in exasperation "you stayed _home_ to _read_ when _this _was going on? I thought you were a quidditch player."

"I'm a better quidditch player than you'll ever be. I also saw no point in going to look at a broom when you aren't allowed to test it out or anything except look at it while it sits in a box. I'll go see it when it's out, I can do something about it then."

"Oh, pshhh, logic. We have no room for that here." Al blew the idea away with a nonchalant wave of the hand.

"Oh, what delusions are you laboring under now, Weasley?" Scorpius started getting up, and crossed his arms.

"No delusions. Just _facts_, Malfoy." She got up as well and put her hands on her hips, small she may be, but weak she most certainly was not. So, despite being towered over, she held firm.

"I believe a challenge has been thrown down!" Ron announced from the table a few feet away using a deep commentator voice, Hermione giggled from aside him.

"Conditions?" Scorpius questioned.

"Around the lake and back." replied Rose.

"Easy."

"Competitors fetch your brooms!" bellowed Ron, getting into his role. "…and some pants!" he added, looking pointedly at his daughter, who immediately looked down at her wispy white summer dress.

"Yeah, yeah." she mumbled as she walked through the doors and up the stairs. Scorpius headed back to the Potters' house to grab his broom. The second that both were out of earshot, Albus and Hugo faced each other with devious looks on their faces.

"Five galleons says its Rose." Albus held out his hand.

"Five says its Malfoy." Hugo shook it. They both finished off their butterbeers that had been abandoned in the conversation, and began to go get their brooms as well, contemplating the challenge they were about to witness.

"Oh, your Uncle George would be so proud to see this courteous exchange." Ron called after them, amused, but his face froze and turned into a softer, sad smile as he added _and Uncle Fred_ in his head. Hermione watched the way the emotions on his face changed suddenly and leaned over to grasp his hand under the table, giving a reassuring squeeze. His eyes met hers.

"I miss him, too." She whispered, putting her free hand on his cheek. It happened over twenty years ago, but she knew that it still caused him pain to think about his brother. He leaned into her hand and his free hand covered hers on his cheek.

"I love you." He whispered in return, leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers softly.

"I love you, too."

* * *

Rose mounted her broom, having returned in light green shorts, a billowy white blouse, and bare feet. Scorpius followed suit, to her left. Ron and Harry left to fly to the lake and make sure no one cheated when circling its shores. Lilly and James, eager to participate in their dispute, hovered over the forest beyond the backyard. Hermione and Ginny stood by the start/finish line they crafted in the backyard of the Weasley house out of floating red streamers.

"GO!" Hugo and Albus roared in unison. They kicked off the ground and shot forward, up over the trees. The lake was about 2 miles from their start point, over the thick green foliage of the forest below. They leaned into their brooms as the wind wreaked havoc with their hair and clothes, flinging them around with the intensity at which they flew forward. Rose began to edge forward, a full foot in front of Scorpius, when her hair tie gave out and her hair blew into her face, blinding her for a moment. He took this as his opportunity to get ahead, and pushed his broom further, surpassing her with a laugh.

"Like hell you will!" Rose yelled, getting even closer to her broom, she was almost entirely horizontal. She had read in one of her mum's books about a term the muggles discovered called "aerodynamics." Studying the concepts of this term improved her form and speed when she played quidditch. She was one of the swiftest flyers on the Gryffindor team.

The quilt of green patches flew by underneath, blurring with motion. The sun was lowering in the sky: it was near sundown. Up ahead she saw something glimmering. The lake. She smirked toward Scorpius and abruptly dived into the trees. There was a path of generous width cleared out from their frequent trips to the lake to swim on scorching summer days. She shot down the path and out into the clearing, she saw her reflection in the motionless water, her bare feet skimming the surface as she looped around, and started to ascend again, back to her previous level, on the way home. She heard her dad shouting "THAT'S MY ROSIE!!" from behind, still hovering above the center of the lake with Harry.

Scorpius made a mistake. He cursed himself. When he saw her dropping into the trees he thought she was falling. He had a right mind to dive down after her, but then he saw her level out in the small gap in the trees, bulleting ahead, as he stared. It was only a second, but it's all it took. _Damn_ he thought as he hurled his broom onward, making up for his moment of hesitation. He circled the lake, trailing behind still, pushing forward as fast as he could

Rose laughed to herself. _Idiot_. She was certain he would fall for her move. It was the Wronsky Feint, adapted and modified. She saw the red streamers fluttering ahead as she flew by a wildly supportive James and Lilly who cheered her on.

He was determined to win, and forced his broom onward, slowly edging his way closer to Rose.

He was just a few feet behind and gaining on her still.

"Hello, Rosie!" He said from right behind her, knowing that she hadn't noticed his approach due to her concentration.

"BLOODY HELL!" She shrieked, the grip on her broom thrown sideways, she swerved, trying to hold steady. "WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME IS IT WITH YOU AND SNEAKING UP ON PEOPLE!?"

He laughed and blew past her, smugly. _Damn him. But I suppose I did deserve that_. She regained her previous stance and focused on the goal ahead. She regained her lost distance with some effort. They were both right next to each other, head to head, when one pushed forward, the other mimicked. Neither could get past each other.

"Hey, Scorp?" Rose asked innocently.

"Oh, no! You're not distracting me this time." He retorted glancing at her, but keeping his speed constant. She pouted. He groaned. "Fine. What?"

"SEE YA!" She shouted, grinning, and her broom lurched forward surpassing his, breaking through the streamers and landing lithely in front of a scowling Hugo, who was digging in his jeans' pockets. Albus ran up to his cousin and hugged her.

"That was--"

"Evil." Said an annoyed voice from behind her.

" Awww, wee Scorpy Malfoy lost to a girl." She said in a baby voice, patting him on the head.

"Compared to you, I'm not exactly 'wee,' am I?" He said smugly, mimicking her head-patting, only without the effort of reaching.

James and Lilly landed beside them, James giving her a high-five, and Lilly hugging her cousin with a thrilled look on her face. They were quickly followed by Harry and Ron, who landed behind them and they heard a loud grumbling noise. Everyone turned to Ron.

"What!? I'm hungry!"

* * *

Ginny had spent the day at home to prepare dinner for the two families to dine together that evening. The general opinion was that she did excellently. They all sat around the long table in the Weasleys' patio. The entrées and sides that lined the middle of the table looked delectable: chicken, steak, sausage, salad, sautéed vegetables, pasta, rice: anything and everything that was imaginable lay in front of them. Ron was having trouble containing himself as they were set out before him. It was exactly sunset, and the sky was on fire, smoldering with deep reds and rich crimsons, topped by citrus wisps and sweeps of daffodil yellow. Above their heads floated tens of small candles, lighting the table below with a faint glow.

"Merlin's pants, Ginny!" Ron exclaimed, exasperated, pointing his wand at the final two dishes his sister was carrying toward the table. They flew from her hands and dashed straight to the table, taking the only space that was left on the entire table surface. The whole table erupted in laughs and giggles at the spectacle they had just witnessed. Rose blushed slightly, glancing over to the blond boy on her right. Her father was known for his immense appetite, and generally she had no problem with it, however, they had guests over! A small part of her mind questioned whether she would be as embarrassed if it was any other friend having dinner with them. She ignored that indignantly.

"RONALD, honestly!" Hermione scolded beside him. She always had to lecture him on his lack of manners. He mumbled a meek "sorry" and glanced down.

"Well, what are you all waiting for? Eat!" Ginny said as she arrived at the table, and seated herself next to Harry. Picking up the utensils wrapped in crisp white napkins, and undoing their restraint, she placed her fork on her plate. The others followed suit, and soon each had their plates full of their favorite dishes.

Ron was talking animatedly to Harry, while his mouth was obscenely full of food. Harry didn't seem to mind or notice, being friends for as many years as they were, one learned to accept the tendencies of another, rude or otherwise. Ginny was questioning Hermione about her latest case: Hermione was the head of the Ministry's Department for International Wizarding Relations. She ensured that global problems were resolved nonviolently, wizards interacted civilly, not to mention regulating resource abuse and muggle treatment. It was no easy job, but she was still the brightest witch of her age and managed superbly. Harry often remarked that she did more work than the Minister of Magic himself. Hermione answered Ginny with an explanation of a case regarding the mistreatment of muggles in a Bulgarian town, all the while sending reproachful glances at her husband for his behavior.

James and Albus discussed the latest quidditch match in which their favorite teams were pitted against each other. One shouting about fouls, the other about unfair score keeping. Lily and Hugo, who were just as close as Albus and Rose, were discussing the topics in the book they had to read over the summer for their Muggle Studies class. Hugo had gotten that interest from his mum, but he inherited his dad's love for sports. He usually focused more on the latter, but he enjoyed an educated discussion as much as the next person. Rose remembered reading the book the summer before, and offered her opinion. Soon they were listing various ways the muggles could deal with their resource consumption, and whether it was all actually necessary.

The only person that was not talking at the table was Scorpius, who, with his head down, surveyed the food on his plate intently. Rose, taking notice of this, removed herself from the conversation with Lily and Hugo, who didn't seem to notice.

"What's wrong?" She asked of him, putting her hand on his shoulder lightly, it was obvious that something was the matter.

"Nothing." He mumbled, not making eye contact with her.

"Ah, yes, I seem to have forgotten. I, too, prefer to be unsociable and taciturn... Makes it all so much more enjoyable, don't you think?" She tried coaxing a smile out of him. He shot her an annoyed look. Not annoyed at the fact that she was talking to him, but more that she knew exactly what to say in every situation. Her witty banter, quick comebacks, and references always made her a great person to talk to, despite the fact that she made any person she was talking to look quite the fool.

"Do you talk as a rule while… eating?" He quoted back, changing it to suit the conversation.

"Hahaha, nicely done. I've taught you well." She smiled.

"Well when I'm around you and your _Pride and Prejudice_ obsession so much, it's hard not to catch on. Oh, lets not forget that you forced me to watch that mushy muggle movie against my will."

"Good times."

"For you, maybe."

"Oh, don't lie to me, Scorpius Malfoy, you enjoyed it just as much as I did. You're simply concerned about keeping up your manly reputation and whatnot." She beamed as he glared at her. _Damn_ he thought to himself. It was a commonly known fact that whenever two people were engrossed in a conversation, they forgot to hold any regard toward those around them or, for that matter, now loudly they were speaking.

"Scorpius, you've seen _Pride and Prejudice_?" Hermione questioned from across the table, overhearing their conversation, surprised but clearly pleased. All conversation halted midstream and every head turned to him. His eyes widened and his cheeks slightly tinged pink.

"I… erm…she…and I… um. Yes?" He barely mumbled.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Hermione smiled widely at him, as if seeing him an new light. Albus, Ron, Harry, and Hugo exploded into guffaws that resounded into the night. The color on his cheeks deepened a few shades. Rose felt guilty and attempted to right her mistake, she knew how hard he worked to gain a good impression from them, though he would never admit it.

"Oh, yes, he lost a bet last year and I couldn't think of anything more cruel to put him through than over two hours of a classic romance." She smiled looking smug. The laughter of males sitting at the table died down and instead turned into looks of appreciation toward Scorpius that seemed to say "bloody hell, I'm glad that was not me, how on earth did you manage to survive?" They seemed to all find a new respect for the boy.

"Merlin, that's worse than the time I had to dye my hair green for a week." James added, shooting an accusing look at Albus who laughed, and nodded in agreement.

"Diabolical, this one!" Hugo looked at his sister in approval, making a mental note to never strike up a bet with her. Rose shrugged in fake innocence.

"Oh, don't worry, I got back at her." Scorpius responded smugly.

"Sh!" She said, playing along.

"What did you do?" questioned an amused Harry from across the table.

"That's a tale for another night, I'm afraid." Rose retorted quickly, before Scorpius could reply with Merlin only knows what story he came up with on the spot.

"Alright, tomorrow, then," Ron spoke, smirking. They all laughed and slowly went back to their individual conversations.

"Thanks." He whispered, clearly relieved. It appeared that not only trouble, but _embarrassment _followed him everywhere.

"No prob." She responded, smiling. They held each other's gaze for longer than necessary, and both nervously reached for something to do, to escape the awkward moment. She reached for her fork, intending to finish her desert; he reached for his glass of pumpkin juice, for his mouth had gone dry. Their hands brushed accidentally, due to the fact that his glass was only a few inches to the right of her fork.

"Sorry…." He mumbled pulling his hand away, nervously, but against his will, grabbing his glass and occupying himself with drinking. She blushed and muttered a "That's fine" under her breath while regarding her slice of tiramisu as the most fascinating thing she had ever beheld. While the actual thing, or person, rather, who fit that description sat just a few inches to her right. The side of her right hand where his skin grazed hers was ablaze.

_Why in the name of Merlin am I such a bumbling idiot? _Scorpius harshly thought to himself. He was certainly not sorry. Not even remotely close to sorry. He wished he could have entwined her fingers in his own and held her hand for the remainder of the night. He would be content with that. Beyond content. "Elated" was closer to the proper word, if there even was one. Things never worked out like that for him, though. He had learned to accept that. Yet he still hoped, despite his better judgment, that somehow she returned his feelings.

They resumed their conversation a few minutes later, as they always did after every awkward moment. Rose had a system. She would take as much time as was needed for her to calm down, or rather, for that blasted blush of hers to fade away. Then, she would simply pretend that nothing had happened and pick up right where they left off. They were best mates, for Merlin's sake. She wouldn't jeopardize that for her unrequited feelings. She just felt slightly sorry for Scorpius for having to deal with her. If she gave in to every awkward moment that took place, they would never talk. What was that muggle phrase that she had heard? Oh yes, "ignorance is bliss," or something of the sort.

In truth, Scorpius was relieved that she was as willing to move past awkward moments as he was. They just continued right where they were, and he was glad for it. He could not deal with awkward, as he made evident by his sudden love of pumpkin juice.

The evening wrapped itself up, conversations settled themselves, candles were close to burning out, the night air chilly to their light summer clothes, and the sky that surrounded them was a deep midnight blue, speckled with constellations every direction. The moon took the center stage and lightly illuminated the scene below. The group returned to their respective houses as Hermione and Ginny cleaned the remnants of the feast they had just consumed. Albus stood in the shadow between the two houses, waiting for Rose and Scorpius. They approached as everyone walked in various directions.

"Think he's deemed himself worthy?" Albus whispered to Rose, his arms crossed in front of him, eyeing Scorpius critically. She turned her gaze to Scorpius as well. They both appraised him, who felt a little self-conscious being scrutinized by of them. He opened his mouth to question them but Rose spoke before he had the chance to.

"Hmm… let's see: five years of friendship, annoying git, always there when you need him, and always there when you don't, loyal friend, known to be brave… well, in certain situations."

"Not to mention we should cut him some slack after all we put him through today." Albus added, and then muttered something unintelligible that sounded a lot like "lost a bet, my arse" under his breath.

"Nah, he deserved it." Rose replied simply. Albus laughed.

"True. But I think we can trust him, don't you?"

"I guess."

"Erm… are you two done conspiring, now?" Scorpius interrupted their conversation, starting to become uneasy. They appeared to have forgotten he was standing right there in their discussion.

"Shut it." Rose retorted, continuing to analyze him along with Albus, both cocking their heads to the side in the process.

"Yup. I think he's ready." Rose said finally, after a few seconds of silence, turning to Albus.

"I agree." he responded. They both turned to Scorpius with scheming smirks on their faces. He looked slightly worried.

"Listen up, Malfoy. At 1 AM you are to meet Al on the upper balcony in the back of his house." Rose spoke, and when she saw that he was about to protest she continued, "Sh! No questions. And it is imperative that you do not mention this to anybody. Or make any noise as you proceed. Do I make myself clear?"

"Um… yes ma'am?" Scorpius responded, his eyes wide. Albus started laughing and began to walk toward his own house. Scorpius, stood locked in place, still looking at Rose.

"See you then." Rose smiled mischievously and proceeded in the opposite direction, into her own home. He had no choice but to follow Albus back to the Potter house, utterly confused.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Please take a few seconds and review, it's much appreciated. : ]**


	3. The Moon

**Dearest readers,**

**It's been about 6 months since I last updated this story, and I admit that I do deserve a good telling-off for it. I send my sincerest apologies. I haven't really had much time to sit down and write because of school and other unforeseeable circumstances, but during the break I finally got set on finishing this story. ****Chapter 4 should be ready soon. ****I'm also toying with an idea for a one-shot, so keep and eye out for that as well. **

**I hope everybody had a wonderful holiday season. Happy New Year!  
**

**Thanks to Panic at the Disco for _Pretty. Odd., _which was on repeat during the making of this story, and to Making April for their beautiful "These are the Nights."**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Moonlit Sonata.  
**

**Without further ado, I present the third installment of _Golden Sky_.**

* * *

Scorpius Malfoy plopped himself on the striped comforter that enveloped the bed in the Potters' guest bedroom. He stared at the white ceiling. Discontent, he turned over and buried his face in the green, white, and blue vertical stripes of the satin comforter. He sighed, flipped back over, and sat up, his eyes drifting to the painting that covered the wall across from the bed. He studied it. Corot was certainly a master, the way each and every single leaf was discernible from the one beside it, the way Eurydice's robe billowed as Orpheus lead her forward, the way Orpheus tightly held her hand as if he would never let her go. The lovers' story traveled through thousands of years, their love remembered and preserved in all its tragedy, in books and paintings such as this.

Why did it have to end in tragedy? Couldn't things just work out well?

He put his head in his hands. What on earth happened today? Did all those moments really happen? Or was wishful thinking getting the best of him? In the tree… by the piano. Were they simply one-sided? Did she not get the plummeting stomach feeling as if doing a headfirst dive on a broom, like he did? And dinner. That was brutal. Yet she made up a bogus story to cover for him. It was a friendly act. Friends did things like that, right? Right.

He fell back on the bed, now watching the moon through the thin white chiffon curtains. He thought about her and the day's events until the silence lulled him to sleep.

* * *

Rose walked straight to it. Sat down and closed her eyes, her fingers simply began to play the first song that came to her, progressing slowly across the keys, one note after the other, on and on until she was satisfied and her fingertips found the last note.

"Moonlit Sonata?" Hermione asked, stepping away from where she had been standing still, listening, unnoticed by Rose. That question didn't mean what any other person would have taken it to mean. Rose and her both knew very well she knew it was Moonlit Sonata. The hidden "why?" was the focus of the question.

Rose opened her eyes and looked down, ignoring the hidden question. "Yeah."

"I've never seen you play it with so much emotion. That was beautiful." She gave her daughter an encouraging look full of pride; Rose smiled bitterly.

"I guess I had more inspiration."

"The moon is stunning tonight."

"Yeah. It is… but it's not just that." She couldn't help it; it slipped out.

"Oh?" Her mother questioned with curiosity, hushed curiosity, but curiosity nonetheless.

"The… um… stars are brilliant as well." She improvised.

"They are." Hermione walked over to her daughter and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Goodnight, Rose," and walked up the stairs.

"Goodnight, mum." She was left alone, staring at the white keys. She could have stayed there infinitely, just thinking, but she had to prepare. She slowly got up and made her way upstairs to her room.

* * *

_Tap tap tap._

Scorpius willed his eyes open. He threw a lazy glance at the clock on the nightstand. 12:43 AM.

_Tap tap tap._

"I'm com--!" He began to whisper loudly, but was interrupted.

_Tap tap tap._

"MERLIN!" He threw himself off the bed and opened the door to the balcony. "What is _wrong_ with you?!" He whispered violently at Albus who stood on the other side of the door, fist up, prepared to knock again. Once he saw Scorpius' frustrated look he put his hand down, and smiled.

"Many things, mate. However, you of all people cannot talk about having problems." Al replied, dodging the whack and ignoring the glare that was being shot in his direction, and he stepped inside the room and sat in the white chair in the corner, next to where Scorpius had placed his trunk when he arrived. Scorpius closed the door and sat on the edge of the bed, facing him.

"So you mind telling me what the bloody hell is going on here?"

"Oh, well you see generally when one person opens their mouth and makes a series of sounds that the other person understands is called _talking_. It's a form of communication." Scorpius shot him another glare.

"OH! You mean why we are sneaking around at all hours of the night and planning meetings in secrecy?"

"Yeah."

"Nope. Sorry, mate, cant tell you." Albus smiled wickedly.

"Of course you cant." Scorpius muttered darkly under his breath. Silence followed.

"How did Rose manage to beat you in that race?"

"It was bloody brilliant, she did some sort of Wronsky Feint, scared me half to death." He'd gone to far once again, and hoped Al didn't notice, or, at least, wouldn't acknowledge his slip up. He always let his feelings out in the open, and wished he would think before he said something he couldn't work his way out of.

"Interesting. But that would slow her down, why would she dive under the trees--- oh! She used the path. Merlin, she's good." Al smiled at his cousin's ingenuity.

"Path?"

"Yeah, the one that leads to the lake that my dad and Uncle Ron cleared when they first moved here."

"But if she wanted to go that way, why didn't she use the path the entire way there?" Albus thought for a moment.

"It's just a hunch, but she probably figured you'd get scared 'half to death' as you so very well put it, and fall behind. She used your…um, 'concern' to her advantage." Al smirked implicatively.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"My arse, you don't."

"I don't."

"Oh, then I guess I should inform you that you're bloody head over heels for my cousin and have a hard time disguising it," Albus said matter-of-factly. Scorpius looked outraged and began to protest.

"I am most certainly not hea--"

"I know that new information takes some time to get used to, but it's a fact drawn from extensive observation and evidence."

"It's not a fact."

"Self-denial isn't healthy. Lying to others is understandable, but lying to yourself is just plain stupid, mate."

"I--" Scorpius began, but was silenced by Al's look, he began again, "I'm… bloody head over heels… for your cousin."

"See? It's like a great weight has been lifted off your shoulders, isn't it?"

"Can I throw that great weight at you?"

"Hey, you should be grateful toward me, we've made significant progress with you." Scorpius just looked annoyed. "But I guess its not yourself you want to make progress with, now is it?" Al raised his eyebrows and grinned. Scorpius made as if to get up and punch Al, but Al quickly threw his arms up in surrender. A thick silence followed.

"You know, you could just tell her."

"Why, so she can laugh at me?"

"I sincerely doubt she'd laugh. That conclusion is also drawn from extensive observation."

"Conclusions aren't always right."

"They can be." Al glanced over at the, clock it flashed 1:00 AM. "It's time," whispered Al ominously, making an implicative face. Scorpius sighed and rolled his eyes at his friend and got up from the bed, walking to the door that led to the balcony. "Oh, come on, at least attempt to pretend you're excited," Al chided him as he followed behind, closing the door quietly behind them.

The night was surprisingly chilly, the breezes breathing liveliness into the two figures that stood in the dark shadow of the sleeping house, blowing away drowsiness and replacing it with a sense of adventure.

Al led Scorpius to the edge of the balcony where lay two broomsticks, one that Scorpius recognized as his own. He made a note to redo the enchantments that were supposedly "locking" his trunk, when it was clear they were doing quite a poor job if the main asset that lay inside was now leaning calmly against the railing on the balcony.

"How did you get my bro--" Scorpius, forgetting the fact that they were outside Al's parents' bedroom, on a balcony, in the middle of the night, planning to escape on brooms, began to question somewhat loudly, but was hushed by an outraged Albus who stared him down. "Fine. But you will get interrogated later!" he whispered to the disapproving friend who was mounting his broom beside him. Scorpius followed suit.

"Just stay close and follow me," Al instructed, "and preferably, you could also shut your mouth." Scorpius mocked his instructions in annoyance. "Hey. Watch it, if wee Scorpy got lost out in the woods, goodness knows how long it would take to find him. That would be very sad wouldn't it?" shot back Al in a maniacal tone, grinning wickedly.

"Can we leave now, or do you need more time to be annoying?"

"Patience, Malfoy, patience."

The two kicked off and Albus led the way, Scorpius gliding behind. They flew over the boundary of the forest and toward the direction of the lake, nothing surrounding them but darkness and stars. The moon painted strokes of white on the black surface of the lake creating a pathway, a trail to follow. They breezed by until Albus suddenly dropped below the trees. For the second time that day, Scorpius was left hanging in mid-air. What is it with these families and falling out of the sky?! He followed, regardless, Al now farther ahead due to his momentary hesitation. He was expertly maneuvering the trail: he knew every tree, stone, and sudden turn, while Scorpius tried desperately not to run headfirst into a tree in the darkness; the only things he could make out were momentary flashes of the lake in between trees and Albus's figure way ahead of him. They swerved around a corner and all of a sudden Scorpius was face-to-face with a giant hill made of jagged rocks, which marked the end of the lake. Al had turned right and followed the shape of the hill, curving around until he suddenly halted, waiting for his slow friend.

"Where do we go now?" Scorpius spoke, having just caught up.

"To the lake."

"But we just passed the lake…."

"Not that lake."

"There's another lake?"

"Yup."

"Where?"

"Over there." Albus pointed down toward the edge of the rocks. Scorpius noticed there was a significant decrease in the ground level, quite a few feet lower than where they were currently hovering. On the exact opposite side from the large lake stood another one. A small crescent-shaped pond taking its origins from the water falling steadily from the rocks that separated it from its larger counterpart and water source.

"Oh, wow."

"Let's go."

Al flew forward, past more rocks and trees, seeming to move with no effort at all, and dipped down, landing on one of the larger rocks that bordered the pond, Scorpius following. He looked around in amazement, this place was beautiful, calming, he listened to the sound of the waterfall to the left of him, like rain, but louder. It was very remote, too. If you weren't looking specifically for it, it would be more than easy to miss.

"Where's Rose?" he asked, realizing she was supposed to be here as well.

"Up there." Scorpius followed where Al's finger was pointing. It was pointing at a tree. A particularly large, empty, dark tree.

"Um, are you sure?"

"Pretty sure." Albus took out his wand and flicked it toward the tree, mumbling an incantation. Suddenly, there was a tree house where there was none before. It was very well built, Scorpius could tell from down there, and complex. The trunk had a ladder propped up to it that led to one house, which had a wrap-around porch, nestled on two massive branches as thick as trunks, sheltered by the branches above. Toward the back of this house, there was another ladder that led to the second house, further to the right, and much higher up, its large, flat roof at the same level as the top of the tree, which gave a great view of the sky. "Still doubt me?" Albus said chuckling at Scorpius' slack jawed expression.

"No. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Rose and her trees."

"I heard that!" yelled a voice from inside the lower house. Rose stepped out onto the porch wearing plaid pajama shorts and a purple cami, crossing her arms. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get your arses up here," she said and walked back inside the house. Al turned to Scorpius and laughed.

"Welcome to the Crescent."

* * *

Harry Potter heard a small crash coming from the balcony; he felt Ginny smile against his neck, where he thought she had fallen asleep. He chuckled softly.

"You'd think that by now they'd realize we've known about their little escapades for , how long has it been, seven years?" she whispered.

"Something like that. Regardless, it's funny to watch."

"Silly teenagers, thinking they're discreetly outsmarting us adults."

They heard a harsh whisper, some sort of demanding question. They laughed and continued listening. The distinct sound of brooms kicking off could be heard.

"Oh, dear, they've decided to take Scorpius with them. This should be interesting." Ginny seemed to take genuine amusement from Scorpius' stay.

"Yeah, as long as Ron doesn't find out, he'd have their heads. "

"Knowing him, he'll stay ignorant, thick prat, that one," Ginny reminded him. Harry chuckled.

"Cant say I disagree." He placed a kiss on her forehead and a trail down her jaw. He paused when he got to her chin. "You worked hard all day, get some sleep, love."

"Oh, I think I have a better idea," she whispered, tilting his head forward to meet his lips.

* * *

"So what exactly is this place?" Scorpius asked as he sat down on the worn couch in the lower house next to Rose. Al grabbed three butterbeers from the cabinet in the far right corner, setting a cooling charm on them and opening them with a wave of his wand. They proceeded to float to their owners.

"It's an old muggle tree house that Rose and I found when our parents finally let us come down to the lake by ourselves. We went exploring in the woods because we got bored, and came upon it after climbing those huge rocks that separate the lakes."

"There's a muggle village not very far away, and one muggle family owned the farm land past the woods, and the land on this side of the big lake. They lived nearby and built their children this tree house. They moved and the house and tree house were both abandoned. Their house was torn down, but this remained forgotten. Albus and I, still in our wizard explorer phase, finally found a fortress and somehow managed to set a protection charm on it, despite being barely ten years old."

"We've been coming here ever since. During the day, at night."

"Peace and quiet. At least a few hours away from all the cousins and uncles and aunts and grandparents."

"It's a pretty wicked tree house," said Scorpius, getting up and looking around, "I see it's been sufficiently supplied," he said, pointing toward the cabinet. "What else do you have in here?" He pulled the doors open and found dozens of bottles of butterbeer, pumpkin juice, tea, coffee, water, alongside chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott's, and every other sort of treat and candy one could imagine. Scorpius nodded in approval, grabbing a bag of this and that and reclaiming his spot on the couch.

"Who said you could have any?" Rose questioned, grabbing a chocolate frog from Scorpius' lap and opening the box.

"Hey!" he protested as Rose ate his frog. Al laughed throwing Rose a look which she chose to ignore. "And your parents don't know about this?"

"Nope, the lot of them, aurors and head ministry officials, have been duped by their own kids. Fills you with pride doesn't it?" said Al to Rose. She chuckled and nodded.

"Speaking of which, you are sworn to secrecy regarding the Crescent, understand?" Rose looked at Scorpius menacingly.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, "What's in the other house?"

"Come and see."

Rose grabbed Scorpius by the arm and dragged him out to the ladder that led to the other house. She lit the makeshift chandelier they made and the first thing he saw was a large bookshelf on the right wall, full from ceiling to floor with volumes. Al noticed where Scorpius was looking.

"I bet you couldn't guess whose those are."

"I don't think I can either. I'm trying, but drawing a complete blank." Rose chucked a pillow at both of them from the pile toward the back wall. "Violent, that one." Scorpius mumbled to Al.

Opposite the wall of books sat a table with a radio on it and some of Albus' favorite records next to the player. The floor was covered in a soft rug wrapped in a faded ivy pattern, the pillows mismatched and of various shapes and sizes were probably used for reclining. He could see a pile of old Daily Prophet issues next to a stack of Witch Weekly magazines. Immediately to his right there was another ladder that led to the roof.

"Up there?" He asked, motioning to the stairs.

"That's our own personal planetarium/watch out point/castle tower/ship deck, depending on your interpretation," Rose responded, smiling at the memories that enveloped her. They all climbed up onto the roof and sat in a circle of sorts, looking up at the sky.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Rose asked in a whisper.

"It is." Scorpius responded, looking not at the sky, but at her.

Al sniggered from the corner, mumbling something that sounded a lot like "what a line."

"I read about this muggle game in a magazine and I want to try it," proclaimed Rose, "You say 'things you shouldn't do while ___________' and you insert a location, activity, situation, then the other players fill in the blank with something amusing. You guys up for it?"

"Sure. I'll go first. Things you shouldn't do while naked." answered Albus.

"Play quidditch." said Rose. The boys winced and nodded in response.

"Visit Grandpa Lucius." said Scorpius.

"Things you shouldn't do your first day at work." Rose said.

"Hit on your boss." responded Albus.

"Hit up some firewhiskey." said Scorpius, "Things you shouldn't eat before kissing someone."

"Yogurt. Yuck." said Rose.

"Bananas." said Albus, "They leave a terrible after-taste. Things you shouldn't say around McGonagall."

"Sex." said Rose and Scorpius in unison.

"Things you shouldn't do in an auror's house." said Rose.

"Try to sneak the last piece of pie undetected…." said Albus, and then he started having a coughing fit that sounded remotely like "kiss his daughter." Scorpius shot him a glare.

"Sneak out at 1 AM to go hang out in a tree house," retorted Scorpius, "Things you shouldn't do on a first date."

"Swoon over your ex-girlfriend," replied Rose in disgust.

"Try to impress her with your butterbeer-chugging skills." responded Albus with disappointment, "Things you shouldn't do in the Ministry."

"Shout 'HES BACK!'" said Scorpius.

"Jump into fireplaces as people are flooing home," said Rose.

So it continued, they shot statements and answers back and forth for over an hour until they ran out of things to say. Albus lay down and looked up at the stars. Scorpius and Rose talked about random things: family, friends, school, plans. Soon, one could hear Albus' faint snores from the far left corner of the roof, where he fell asleep. The two laughed at him and debated setting some sort of trap or jinxing him, but decided against it, not because of morals or scruples, Merlin, no, it was more sheer laziness and lack of creativity or the patience to produce it. Scorpius and Rose sat in comfortable silence, taking in their surroundings.

Rose shivered and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, and broke the silence. "It's the middle of July, why in Merlin's name is it cold?"

Scorpius flicked his wand and conjured a blanket, placing it over both of them. Smiling he asked "Better?"

"Much. You're far too nice to me."

"You're right, I should be meaner." He feigned seriousness and pulled the blanket from her, so it only covered him.

"Now that's just cruel." She said in mischievous disapproval, grabbing the blanket and tugging as hard as she could.

"Think you can beat me, Weasley?" He asked her challengingly. She then started pulling with more force, Scorpius matching it, until, quite suddenly, she let go. Scorpius wound up flat on his back, smacking his head against the old wood beneath him. Rose let out a chuckle and moved so her head was hovering right above his, snatching the blanket out of his hands.

"I always win, Malfoy. You should know this by now." The intensity with which he looked at her locked her in place. They looked at each other for an immeasurable length of time, it wasn't awkward, it was downright unnerving. Suddenly Scorpius grabbed her by the waist and flipped their positions, pinning her against the ground.

"Oh really?" he whispered, his face right a few inches over hers. A wicked grin spread over his face and the tickling commenced.

"Sco-- stop--I--mea--!" she managed through fits of giggles.

"I'm sorry, what was that? 'Scorpius, you win.' Is that what I heard?"

"NO," she gasped before being overcome by more sniggering.

"In that case…" He continued his tickling more enthusiastically.

"Fine--I--you--win!" Rose gave in and sighed in relief when he stopped, giving him a dirty look for resorting to her one weakness.

"Ah, the truth. It's wonderful to hear." He collapsed next to her chuckling; she elbowed him playfully. She was not one to take defeat easily. He felt something heavy on his shoulder and smelled a faint floral perfume. He tensed when he realized that her head was on his shoulder. She noticed and smiled. It really was quite forward of her, but to hell with it.

"What? The floor is hard," she explained "and after that tickling torment, I think you owe me one."

"Owe you one? I was simply indicating my obvious superiority." He tried responding in his usual smug nonchalance, yet secretly reveling in the feeling of her cheek resting on his upper arm. He wrapped that arm around her back, letting it rest at her waist. She snuggled closer to get comfortable.

Rose looked around at the leaves dancing in the breeze on the old tree around them, at her cousin's sleeping form across from them on the roof (silently thankful), at the twinkling stars sprinkled across the sky in shapes she could identify, and finally, at the moon, cratered and lonely, yet illuminating the world.

They lay there, contented in silence, but deep in thought, taking in the beauty of the night. Minutes, maybe hours later, she couldn't tell, she looked up at him, his features paler than usual because of the moonlight; he was gazing at the moon intently.

"Tell me what you're thinking." She whispered, wondering if shed get an answer. He didn't respond for some time.

"I'm… hoping the moon forgets to fall tonight." He whispered, still looking up. Slowly, he turned his gaze to her. It was earnest, unmasked, vulnerable. She chuckled. "What?" He questioned, not masking the hurt in his voice effectively.

"I was thinking the same thing." She replied plainly, smiling up at him. He was an idiot, always jumping to conclusions. He returned the smile. Suddenly, irrationally, he tilted his head and pressed his lips to her forehead. After a few seconds, he pulled away, still smiling, and went back to looking at the moon, refusing to meet her gaze.

Her heart beat in overtime and her skin could still feel the contours of his lips where he had kissed her. It burned. Now he was being coy, not looking at her, but she was glad, she could feel the heat of the blush that had arisen on he face; he probably could, as well. She thrilled at what happened and snuggled closer to him, if that was possible, beaming. She memorized every detail of this night until her eyelids closed the curtains and she fell asleep.

Scorpius felt Rose's rhythmic breathing and chanced a glance downwards, confirming that she was indeed asleep. He pulled the blanket higher so she wouldn't get cold while sleeping and tightened his grip around her. He leaned his head against hers, letting sleep take him, but not before stealing one more glance at the moon and smiling.

* * *

**Please take a moment and review! : ]**


	4. The Lake

**I have now realized that I am probably the worst updater to ever grace the world of fanfiction. I wrote, got annoyed, stopped, tried again and repeated this process several times before today. I had my English exam this morning and was in a very inspired writing mood, so when I got home, I sat down and wrote and wrote. But a chapter every six months? Now that's just pathetic of me. Not to mention extremely annoying for you, as I can only imagine from personal experience. Hopefully this will make up for it, my dear readers.**

** College applications and decisions are over, as is most of school, and exams are in full swing. Summer is approaching. Can you feel it? It's electrifying. **

**Now, on to the story. Enjoy!  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

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Rose Weasley buried her face in her pillow, fighting to stay asleep despite the streaming sunlight's insistence otherwise. Recollections of last night suddenly came to her and, much to her later regret, her eyes flew open in realization. She hurriedly raised her palms to cover them up: the light burned her sleep-filled eyes. In the comfortable darkness, she recalled the way his skin felt under her cheek, the way his arm snaked around her waist, the way he softly kissed her on the forehead. She couldn't help the smile that overcame her expression at the thought of last night.

She sat up and adjusted herself to the brilliant streams of light that made their way through the windows and the doors to the balcony. She always closed the curtains before she went to bed every night to keep this very thing from happening, but needless to say, she was too preoccupied last night to think rationally about anything, much less the condition of her curtains. She looked over at the clock; the dainty silver hands pointed to 8: 37. She found herself laughing at the last time she looked at that very same clock, last night at 4: 13, after Albus awoke atop the tree house with a start:

"ROSE, SCORPIUS, WAKE UP! WE FELL ASLEEP! MERLIN KNOWS ITS PROBABLY ALMOST DAWN, WE'RE GONNA GET CAUGHT! OUR PARENTS ARE PROBABLY ALREADY AWAKE WONDERING WHERE WE ARE!" He walked around the roof of the tree house flailing his arms to express his woe. Rose mumbled some incoherent insult at her cousin against Scorpius's shirt. She slowly raised her head, appraising her surroundings. Scorpius was quietly sleeping right next to her, his arm still wrapped around her. She leaned closer to his face and whispered.

"Scorpius? Scor?" She placed her hand on his cheek, as she spoke. "Come on, we have to get back." His eyes opened and he didn't respond, his expression fading from momentary shock to dazed happiness. "Hey."

"Hi." He muttered, confused. She laughed.

"Awake yet?"

"I'm not sure." He responded, not taking his smiling gaze away from her. She pondered the possible meanings of that response as he looked down at his arm. They both realized the position they were in and blushed, looking at the floor and disentangling themselves. Scorpius vanished the blanket on the floor. Rose hadn't even apprehended that during their mildly awkward moment, Albus, in his continued panic, was now downstairs loudly reproaching them for not realizing the gravity of the situation they were in, not even noticing the compromising position that his cousin and best friend were in moments before. Sometimes she was thankful for Albus's hysterics.

They both laughed at him and made no effort to hasten as they descended into the house below. She waved her wand, putting out the candles in each room. The three of them grabbed their brooms and kicked off, Scorpius was hovering for a few moments in front of the tree as Rose recast the protection charms on it, Albus was already halfway home, whipping through the night air. Scorpius laughed at his friend again.

"Idiot." Rose stated as she shook her head toward Albus's departing figure and started flying toward the house with Scorpius next to her. At a normal speed.

"Is it really that close to dawn?" Scorpius started to look marginally concerned.

Rose laughed and shook her head again, "It's four a.m."

"Does he know that?"

"Nope." She chuckled manically.

"And you didn't tell him?"

"Nope. I figured he could use a little scare." She smiled and he reached over and ruffled her hair. She swatted at his hand.

"That's just evil. He's going to freak out when he finds out."

"As opposed to his current, utterly calm demeanor."

"Touché."

They both brought their brooms to a slow stop as they entered the backyard. He hugged her and realized she was shivering.

"You should go get in bed; you're so cold." He whispered in her ear. He obviously didn't have the same problem with the temperature, she thought as she, quite unwillingly, broke away from his warm arms and smiled.

"Goodnight, Scor."

"Goodnight, Rosie."

She watched as he flew to his balcony door and quietly shut it behind him, smiling at her briefly. She made her way to her own room and collapsed in her bed, wrapping the cold comforter around herself, catching a glance at the clock right before she fell asleep once more.

It was now four hours later and breakfast time. She hopped out of bed and made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Hermione was humming a tune as she was adding strawberries to three pancake-adorned plates.

"Morning, Mum."

"Good morning, Rosie."

"Is all that for us?"

"Yes, I ate with your father before he left for work; I have to go soon myself. Hugo just grabbed his plate and rushed back upstairs. That boy is up to something, I'm telling you. I hope we wont get a repeat of the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder Incident of 2020." Rose winced at the thought of it.

"Don't worry, I'll keep my eye on him. Plus, I'm pretty sure if he ever does anything like that again, Lilly might just kill him."

"That's why I'm worried." Hermione laughed as she was washing her hands from fruit handling. She grabbed her purse and headed over to the fireplace. "I'll see you guys after work. We're conferencing with members of the IWA, so I might be a little late. Be good!"

"Yes, Mum. Kick butt at your conference… diplomatically, of course. I don't think the International Wizarding Alliance cares too much for literal butt-kicking."

"No, we are strongly opposed to literal butt-kicking. Bye!" Hermione's laugh trailed away as she disappeared into the floo network.

Rose waived her wand and the coffee began to make itself, the caramel aroma filled the entire kitchen and she leaned against the counter, taking in the smell with a wide grin on her face. She loved coffee. She took out the sugar and creamer while the machine finished its job. She poured two cups, set one down by the three plates, and helped herself to her own cup. She levitated breakfast into the backyard, and followed slowly behind it. The plates lay themselves on the table, and she set a heating charm on them as she walked past. She grabbed the other cup of coffee in her free hand and began walking to the Potters' house.

She froze in place as she heard a loud crash come from their kitchen. Rose tiptoed to the doorway to the kitchen and peeked inside. Scorpius was on the floor, flabbergasted look on his face, next to a kettle and several (now broken) mugs. She couldn't help but laugh. This startled him, who hadn't realized anyone was in the room.

"Bloody hell," he mumbled, getting up. It was apparent that he was still sleepy as he fumbled, trying to pick up everything.

"You are a mess. Looking for this?" She extended her arm that held the other coffee cup and waived it temptingly in front of him with raised eyebrows. He smiled and gratefully took the cup.

"Merlin, yes. Thank you."

"No problem," she responded as she grabbed the wand from her pocket and fixed the devastation Scorpius had made in the Potters' kitchen.

"Where is everyone?"

"Well, you know where Al is, I'm sure. Uncle Harry leaves for work with my dad, Aunt Ginny probably had practice this morning. James returned to his flat. Lilly is most likely getting dressed."

"Food?"

"Yes. Food on table. In patio. We talk caveman now?"

"Yes," he said, sticking out his tongue at her and walking out of the room. She rolled her eyes and followed.

"Can you go wake him up?" She asked, pouting.

"Why me?"

"Because."

"Great reason."

"Lazy."

"Lazier."

"Fine then, let's both go." She grabbed his hand and dragged him upstairs, opened the door to Albus's room, and drew her wand. Scorpius was still too drowsy to care about Albus's slumbering state, and far too preoccupied with the feel of Rose's hand on his.

It all happened rather quickly. He heard a faint "aguamenti," a giggle, the absence of Rose's hand, soon replaced by a wand, and a shut door behind him. His eyes widened in horror as he looked over at the now drenched Albus, whose expression practically shouted "murder."

"SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY! WHAT IN THE BLOODY NAME OF MERLIN IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?" Al shouted, getting out of bed and grabbing his wand. Rose laughed from outside the door. Scorpius grabbed the doorknob and ran down the stairs and outside into the back yard, Albus quickly following from behind.

"AGUAMENTI!" Al shot the spell right above Scorpius's head.

"IT WASN'T ME!" Scorpius shouted as he tried to escape the stream of water.

"LIAR!" Al shouted back, running past Rose, doubled over in laughter. "THINK IT'S FUNNY DO YOU?" She nodded, unable to speak through the spasms of giggles. "Oh, well, in that case… AGUAMENTI!" The laughter immediately stopped. She was soaked.

"ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER!" She reached to grab her wand and get revenge, but realized she had given it to Scorpius when she left the room. That was not her brightest idea. Scorpius realized this at the same time. He wickedly grinned and shot another Aguamenti spell at her with her own wand. After recovering from the shock of the cold water, she started to chase him.

"GIVE ME BACK MY WAND, YOU TOSSER!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO GAVE IT TO ME!" He turned around and repeated the spell while running. She was livid. Albus, finally catching on, calmly walked over to the table and began to eat his breakfast, watching them make fools of themselves. Scorpius was about five feet in front of Rose, running casually, not expecting her to catch up to him. Rose ran as fast as she could and jumped on his back, tackling him to the ground, straddling his waist. He let out a yelp going down. Albus was heard laughing hysterically from the patio.

"HA," she said, snatching the wand out of his hand. She pointed the wand at the back of his head and performed an Aguamenti spell herself.

"Fantastic," he muttered sarcastically, this was too much for one morning, "can you get off me, now?" It wasn't that he so much minded her weight, but he was completely sopping wet, muddy, and covered in grass. He longed for clean, dry clothes

She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "And if I don't?" She didn't give him the opportunity to respond or regain his composure. She quickly hopped off his back and walked over to sit across from Albus, summoning her coffee from his house. He remained on the ground, jaw dropped. _She does not fight fair_, he thought to himself. Al grinned and shook his head at her as she sat down across from him.

"What?" she demanded, trying to conceal her grin.

"One of these days, you'll give that boy a heart attack."

"I don't know what you're talking about; I didn't do anything to him."

"Right, that's why he looks like he's been hit in the head with a bludger?"

She laughed, "Yes."

Scorpius made his way over and sat down at the end of the table, halfheartedly picking at his pancakes.

"You are so moody. What's wrong now?"

"Well, I'm wet, muddy, and spilled my coffee while being CHASED by two lunatics, one of which tackled me to the ground." She took out her wand and summoned a fresh cup of warm coffee from her kitchen.

"Better?"

He held up his index finger, took a large gulp and then replied, "Much."

Albus shook his head and made a face in disgust. "I don't know how you guys drink that stuff. It's awful." Rose and Scorpius looked at each other and feigned sadness.

"He just doesn't understand." Scorpius said to Rose.

"He never will." Scorpius patted her on the shoulder in mock sympathy.

"You two are ridiculous. First you soak me through and now you're bonding over cups of that… _tar_."

"Maybe you aren't soaked quite thoroughly," Rose mumbled raising her wand threateningly, then her eyes widened and she dropped her hand, "THAT'S IT!" Rose stood up and said firmly, "Boys, we are going swimming," and with that she started running inside her house to change out of her still soaked pajamas. "Don't forget to invite Lilly!" she shouted over her shoulder.

Albus and Scorpius stared at the door she had gone through, baffled by her sudden outburst. They exchanged confused looks.

"Do you know what…" Albus began, but trailed off.

"No idea. But I'm frightened," Scorpius replied.

* * *

Lily Potter knocked on the door and entered when she heard a "come in" from within. The room was a wintry teal color, the walls plastered with photographs of landmarks and ruins from around the world, pictures of friends and family, and muggle paintings. Books were arranged in neat stacks throughout the room by some organizational pattern known only to their owner.

"So what exactly is going on? Albus mumbled something incoherent about you wanting to go swimming?" Lily asked the empty room, looking for Rose after dropping her towels on the bed.

"Yes, is it wrong of me to want to go swimming with my bestest cousins and friends?" Rose emerged from the closet shining her biggest grin.

"It's wrong to disguise your intentions as genuine when, in fact, all you want to do is catch a glimpse of our dearest Scorpius half-naked." Lily returned the same smile to Rose, who looked outraged.

"I want no such thing! How dare you imply that?!" Lily's look was unwavering. Rose's face fell, she continued, "So… maybe, possibly, that might have been an intention, but not very high on the list. Mostly I just wanted to see my beautiful cousin Lily who I rarely lay eyes upon?"

"Rose. You see me everyday. Although, I am rather beautiful, aren't I?" Lily dodged Rose's swat as she laughed. Rose tripped over a pile of books in her effort and landed on the ground.

"I told you books are hazardous to your health." Lilly plopped herself on the bed while Rose got up, scowled, and walked back into her closet, still agonizing over what to wear.

"Black?"

"Rose, have you seen how pale you are?"

"Possibly. How about blue?"

"Isn't that your default color? Go for it. Just hurry up. Merlin, it didn't even take _me_ this long to get ready. Ah, but you've got other things on your mind, no?" A shoe flew out of the closet and made contact with her shoulder "Those who speak the truth are always mistreated by society. I am one of those unfortunate souls."

Rose emerged from the closet donning a royal blue bikini covered by a white eyelet sun dress, nude-colored leather sandals and a matching bag. She struck a pose in front of her closet, her sun glasses covering much of her face. Lily clapped and attempted to wolf whistle. Rose laughed at her sputtering.

"Maybe I should leave the wolf whistling to Scorpius?" She asked quickly and ran out the door with her towels before Rose could find something else to throw at her.

* * *

Albus Potter was pacing the length of the Weasley patio in impatience. "Merlin's beard, when the bloody hell is that girl going to be ready?" Scorpius lounged on one of the chairs, staring off at the forest, deep in thought. "I mean, somehow she's managed to surpass my mum, Aunt Hermione, even Lilly in the time it takes her to get ready. She could give Aunt Fleur a run for her money, too, and that's plain frightening. Are you even listening to me? Scorpius? SCORPIUS?" His attention snapped back to his friend as his reverie was interrupted.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Merlin, you're hopeless." Albus rolled his eyes and continued pacing.

"Why would you say that?" He asked, thoroughly confused.

"I didn't sa-- you know what? Nevermind. I can obviously see you're distracted." Albus gave him a pointed look as he walked over to the door, ready to yell upstairs at his cousin, but she opened the door and emerged with Lily just as he approached. "Could you have taken any longer?"

"Yes." Rose smirked and motioned for Scorpius to join them as they all began to walk to the path that led to the lake.

* * *

"Bollocks! We forgot to bring blankets and chairs and towels!" Albus said as they arrived on the white sandy shores of the lake. Rose dropped her bag, took out her wand, and proceeded to expand the chairs she had shrunk and spread out the blankets, making sure to set a charm so that they wouldn't blow away in the wind. Extra towels made their way to the spot in front of her complaining cousin. Al looked sheepish as he readied himself for a swim.

Scorpius noticed that there were only two blankets on the ground. He wondered weather he should conjure his own or if Rose minded sharing hers with him. She noticed the dilemma brewing behind his expression and nodded and smiled at him. He returned her smile and began to take off his shirt, dropping it lightly in a pile at the corner of his blanket.

Rose tried not to look, she honestly did, but she caught a glance out of the corner of her eye and she couldn't help but stare at his well toned physique. His pale chest and chiseled abdomen. His well defined arms and curved back. She forced herself to look away as he was stretching and focus on getting ready herself. She pulled the dress over hear head and folded it neatly, taking way too much time than necessary so as not to let go of the only covering she had left. She grabbed her sunscreen from her bag and began applying it. Muggles were brilliant sometimes, and she was thankful for their useful inventions. She felt his eyes on her, despite being turned away. She turned around to offer him the bottle and found him blushing mildly at being caught staring.

"Sunscreen, oh palest Malfoy?" She held out the bottle, grinning. He stuck his tongue out at her and grabbed the sunscreen, applying it himself as she summoned butterbeer for the four of them, smiling to herself.

"Thank you, oh freckled Weasley." He noticed that her back and shoulders were riddled with freckles, some faint and others easily visible. He wondered what it would be like to run his fingers across that skin, whether it was as soft as he imagined. He chided himself for staring again, after already being caught. Scorpius handed the bottle back to Rose and presented a challenge.

"I bet I can get to the water before you!"

"You sure about that, Malfoy?" She grinned, putting away the sunscreen and the barely-sipped butterbeer. When she looked back up, she found he was already sprinting toward the shore. "Cheater!" She yelled in protest and began to run out to the water as well. She dove into the water right after a laughing Scorpius and began splashing him incessantly for being the annoying, competitive, cheating prat that he was. She could hear his laughs over the splashing, he was swimming towards her. She smiled in victory as she anticipated wining this. Next thing she knew, her hands were immobile in front of her. He chuckled as he held her hands in his own.

"No more splashing for you." She attempted to struggle her way out of his grasp, halfheartedly, while she did want to continue her assault on him, she rather enjoyed the feeling of his hands entwined with hers.

"Cheater." She repeated, sternly looking at him.

"How am I a cheater? I specifically told you my challenge, and it was your decision to waste time putting things away."

"You could have waited for me to be finished, but I think you were probably just scared that you'd lose to me _again_."

"I lost because _you _cheated."

"How did I cheat? I merely used strategy."

"Yes, by falling out of the sky with no warning, scaring me to death."

"Aw, was little Scorp worried about me?" She smiled, playfully teasing.

"Yes." His response was utterly serious. Her smile fell and she looked apologetic. "But I shouldn't have doubted your flying skills, my mistake." He smiled, carefully folding away his concern. She returned it. He dropped her hands and sent a giant splash across her head. "HA!" He swam over to Lily and Albus who had matching amused, knowing looks on their faces. Rose followed, angrily. Before any more fighting could ensue, the group turned to the approaching noise from the woods.

"Oi, guys! I cant believe you left without inviting your dearest cousin and brother and pal!" Hugo emerged from the trees and dropped his stuff on the ground and joined them in the water.

"You were doing your sneak-around-in-your-room-planning-catastrophes thing, even mum's suspicious." Rose replied to her approaching brother.

"_Me_? Planning catastrophes? Dearest sister, how could you suggest such a thing?" He flashed his biggest innocent smile.

"Yes, silly me for suspecting anything from my well-behaved, loving brother."

"Well, your well-behaved, loving brother is bored. Let's play something!"

The five of them went back to the good old days of youth and played ridiculous water games from wizards and muggles alike. They progressed from Marco Polo, to beach volleyball, to swimming contests, even building sand castles. Rose's intricate castle was clearly superior to the others, enveloped in realistic carvings of brick and ivy, tall towers, and arched windows. At least, until Hugo "accidentally" stepped on it while walking backwards to the lake. Scorpius had to restrain her from committing fratricide on the "insolent brat," as she so eloquently dubbed him. Scorpius was agile and stealthy in Marco Polo, quickly catching Rose's slow, cautious escape and Al's loud, splashy failure. Lily proved herself to be quite talented at volleyball, which surprised everyone because of her notorious difficulties with quidditch, and almost made up for it, but not quite.

The day passed in the warm lull that summer days usually do. The sun was in the midst of setting and the group had parted ways earlier after the activities were exhausted. Lily was set on getting some tanning done; she ended up falling asleep on her stomach. Rose cast a spell on her so she wouldn't get burned instead of interrupting her sleep. Hugo and Al made some ridiculous bet and rushed into the forest to find Merlin knows what before the other one could, which left Rose and Scorpius floating calmly on the lake, content in silence. Scorpius had his sight set on the peak of the rocky cliff that hung over the lake; Rose had her sight set on Scorpius. She noticed where he was gazing.

"That's one thing we haven't done yet."

"What's that?"

"Dive off the rocks." She motioned toward where he was looking earlier.

"Can we?" His face lit up in excitement. Rose laughed.

"Let's go!" They both swam to the rocks and began climbing up the side. Scorpius let Rose go ahead of him because she knew exactly where to climb, having done it so many times as a child. They stood at the peak and looked out at the fiery hues the sun painted across the heavens and the miles of trees that surrounded them. A chilly breeze blew in from the north and Rose shivered, goosebumps covering her skin. She was trying in vain to cross her arms and warm herself up when she felt his arms envelop her and pull her flush against himself. She thrilled at the contact, the feeling of his skin on her own, without awkwardness or pretense as a barrier. Rose placed her head against his chest and could feel his heart beating erratically, just as her own was within her chest. Scorpius placed his chin on her head and held her closely.

They stood there watching the sunset contently for several minutes. Just as it delved below the earth, Scorpius placed a kiss on the top of her head. She lifted her head and looked up at his familiar face, one she'd seen almost daily for the past six years, one she couldn't imagine living without, one she could keep looking at infinitely, and smiled slightly. He leaned forward slowly, eyes never leaving hers, worried he'd overstep some boundary or ruin it. He heard her faint intake of breath before his lips pressed against hers.

His lips were soft and gentle on hers as he pulled her closer to him, fingers running down her bare back tantalizingly slow. Rose shivered, but not because of the cold. She wrapped her arms around his neck, entwining her fingers in his fine hair. She could feel every line of his body against hers. The world melted around them as his lips caressed hers slowly, as they moved in the same rhythm, as every wall they ever built collapsed.

He pulled away and kissed his way up her neck, beginning at her collar bone. She moaned as he lingered on her pulse point and continued kissing across her jaw, returning finally to her anticipating lips. She slid her right hand away from his hair, slowly tracing up his neck, and cupped his cheek, gliding her fingers across his skin. She could feel him smiling as he sighed against her lips. She pulled away and rested her forehead against his, searching for his grey eyes. They were still closed, but revealed themselves slowly. She loved the way he was looking at her, as if he was content with staying there indefinitely.

She found herself grinning, she couldn't help herself. The absolute happiness that she felt and the happiness that was radiating from him were undeniable and all-encompassing. She untangled her arms from around his neck, grasped his hand firmly, and laughed along with him as they ran and threw themselves off the rocks and into the warm waters below.

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